Kansas Museum Gets Major Astro Items

Todd Pittenger - September 17, 2013 10:37 am

Tom Leahy Jr., who died in 2010 at age 87, portrayed Major Astro in the afternoon show, which first ran from 1962 to 1973.

The Kansas Museum of History now has several personal items that belonged to Tom Leahy Jr., who generations of Kansas children knew either as Major Astro or the weekend movie host in the television show “The Host and Rodney.”

Leahy, who died in 2010 at age 87, was from Wichita and portrayed Major Astro in the afternoon show, which first ran from 1962 to 1973. Leahy reprised the character for a short time in 1985.

Leahy created Major Astro in large part because of America’s focus at the time on outer space and astronauts.

Leahy’s widow, Wilma, has donated four boxes of his personal items and a painting to the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.